Islamic Economics & Finance Research Division Manager Abdul Ghafar Ismail cited the example of Indonesia, which has been leveraging on Malaysia’s expertise and could become the next largest sukuk issuer.

“Indonesia is considering sukuk as a means to finance its infrastructure projects, particularly in the transport sector,” he told a press conference after the opening of the 11th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance (ICIEF) here today.

Abdul Ghafar said Malaysia could lend its expertise to African countries such as Senegal, Kenya and Nigeria which are looking for alternative ways to support their economic development following the drop in global oil prices.

“In order to implement an efficient Islamic financial system, it is crucial (for interested countries) to establish a masterplan that will determine the industry’s strategic direction.

“It is also important to get the fundamentals right,” he added.

The three-day conference is jointly organised by the International Islamic University of Malaysia, the Islamic Development Bank Group, IRTI and the International Association of Islamic Economics, supported by the Finance Ministry.

Themed ‘Rethinking Islamic Economics and Finance: Paving the Way Forward for Inclusive and Sustainable Development’, it features more than 100 research and policy papers by participants from 36 countries.